The firft aft of their patriotic fpirit was an attempt to take
by violence, out of the hands of juftice, a criminal whom the
Landroft, or chief magiftrate of the diftrift, had forwarded,
under the efcort of a dragoon, towards the Cape. His crime,
which was an aft of forgery on orphan property, committed to
the care of a conftituted board in the Cape called the Weefkammer,
or chamber for managing the effefts of minors and orphans,
had heen fully proved againft him before the provincial
court of judicature; but being one of the patriotic party,
and a very diftinguilhed charafter in all the difturbances that
had taken place in this diftrift, he was confidered as too valuable
a fubjeft to be taken off by a regular courfe of juftice. Accordingly,
about fourteen boors, each armed with an enormous
mufquet ufed for killing elephants and other wild beafts, were
difpatched upon the Karroo, or great defert, on the meritorious
ejjterprize of reftoring the culprit to the fociety of which he
was a member; The dragoon, however, into whofe cuftody he
had been committed, thought proper to demur, and at length
told them, in a very refolute and fpirited manner, that fooner
than lurrender him into their hands, or fuffer him to be taken
out of his, he ihould certainly blow out his brains. But the
Landroft’s fecretary, who had alfo been fent in joint charge of
the prifoner, no lefs frightened than the boors were at the determined
manner of the dragoon, prevailed upon the latter, if.
not to relinquifh the criminal, at leaft to convey him back to
the drofdy, and deliver him up to the Landroft; to this he re-
luftantly affented; the courageous boors keeping at a proper
diftance from'the waggon.
Having,
Having, however, proceeded thus far, without difpkying
any extraordinary exploits of patriotifm, the ihame of their
failure feemed to require that they Ihould go a ftep farther.
With the affiftance of a fchoolmafter, whom they found no
difficulty in perfuading to be of their party, they iflued circular
letters to their brother boors, entreating fuch as they knew to
be well difpofed to aft with them, and commanding, in a menacing
tone, others whofe co-operation was doubtful, to affem-
ble in arms without delay. Their firft movement was to ftation
themfelves near the ford o f the Sunday River, juft at the entrance
of the village; and to fend from thence to the Landroft
a threatening meffage, that, unlefs he would comply with all
the demands they were about to make, they ihould, in the firft
place, feize upon his perfon, and either hang him before his
own door, or deliver him over to fome of the boors againft
whom he had, on a former occafion, been the inftrument of obtaining
a decree of outlawry, and who were now living with
the Kaffers. The Landroft, by means of a few dragoons who
luckily happened at this time to be ftationed at the drofdy, for
the purpofe of forwarding difpatches through the country, was
not only enabled to hold this undifciplined rabble, though ten
times the number of his forces, at defiance, but alfo fecretly to
convey to the government at the Cape fpeedy intelligence of
the rebellious conduft of the farmers o f his diftrift.
I have already obferved, in the former Volume of this work,
that the diforderly and riotous behaviour of the boors of Graaf
Reynet, in infulting and driving away the firft magiftrate,
and the minifter of the gofpel, had determined General Sir
f 2 James